Dell Inspiron 546 Random Crashes / Boot Failure

[PlyrJames791]

Hi

I'm having a few problems with my Dell PC.
Basically, when I turn it on, it boots normally. However, in less than 5 minutes, the two monitors either turn a solid colour or vertical stripes appear, causing the computer to be completely unresponsive (ie ctrl-alt-del does nothing, the keyboard lights go off, etc). After forcing a restart, the fans and hard drive spin but there are no beep codes and the monitors remain blank. Windows will finally load after about another 4 reboots, and if the whole cycle doesn't start again, it is fine and I can use it normally for many hours.

I usually use the onboard graphics (ATI Radeon HD 3200) but my pci-e NVIDIA GeForce 9400 card causes the same problems, except with a frozen screen instead of the solid colour or stripes. Also, changing the PSU made no difference.

Possibly related to the first problem, I have noticed that the sound seems to become distorted after leaving it on for a while, even though my speakers worn fine with other devices.

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit in a dual boot configuration with Windows XP MCE, on an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400 processor with 4GB RAM.

I hope someone can help me - as it is, it is virtually unusable. :(

Thanks
James

[techsheaven]

It helps that you are dual booting. Does this happen under each OS?

Assuming the answer is yes, I would pull the video card and see if the problems persist with just the onboard video. If all is well, I would put the NVIDIA card back in, and disable the onboard video in the BIOS (usually under integrated peripherals). If you are unable to do so, I would disable it in the Device Manager. If that card supports dual monitors and works OK with the onboard video disabled, I would keep it that way, if not I would buy a dual video card.

Not all video adapters play well together! If you find that they work well separately, but not together, you could try updating both drivers, but I suspect you will still have issues.

Let us know what you find out!

Good Luck

[vbalag]

step 1 - can change the memory module. If there are 2 modules, then try with one each.
if this is not working, then u shouldv try with a different powersupply...

good luck

[techsheaven]

We want to help resolve this issue! We just need more information.

Have you tried the troubleshooting measures? Another thought is dust and/heat issues. Sometimes dust will build up and cause static and heat problems. Dust is also a simi-conductor; it will cause all kinds of problems. Also, make sure that all of your fans are working!!

Let us know what you find out.

[PlyrJames791]

Sorry for the late reply - having a broken pc makes it pretty hard to get online!
There's barely any dust at all, and all the fans are working. Also, CoreTemp shows readings that are pretty much always below 50 degrees celsius for both cores, so I can't see that being a problem.
Since the same thing happens with 2 different PSUs, It doesn't look like that's the reason either.

I haven't tried it as much in Windows XP, but so far it only does it when I'm using Windows 7 (It probably is something to do with drivers) so I might try reinstalling the graphics drivers. I'll get back to you :)

[skilly]

i have noticed NVIDia is plagued with problems...just thought i'd add my own personal opinion. AGB is better than PCI when it comes to graphics

[skilly]

*AGP*
darn